Best proxies for web scraping
We scrape at scale for a living. This is the short version of what we'd tell a colleague: which proxies to use, when residential is worth the cost, and the picks that survive contact with real anti-bot defenses.
The one-line answer
1. Decodo — best overall for hard targets
· tested first-hand
The provider we actually reach for when a target fights back. Datacenter proxies collapsed to roughly a fifth success on hard review pages; moving those jobs to Decodo residential is what made them viable. Our default recommendation for serious scraping.
2. Webshare — best value for easy targets
The best place to start and the best value for easy targets. Just know the ceiling: when a site fights back, datacenter proxies won't carry you and you'll need residential.
Visit Webshare · Full review →
3. IPRoyal — best mid-market residential
A sensible mid-market pick when you want real residential IPs without enterprise pricing or commitment. Good value floor; the enterprise pool wins on the nastiest targets.
Residential vs datacenter: the decision in practice
Don't overthink it. Datacenter proxies are fast and cheap — use them until they stop working. Residential proxies route through real consumer IPs, so they pass the checks that block datacenter ranges, at higher latency and per-GB cost.
The switch point is empirical, not theoretical. We watched datacenter success drop to roughly a fifth on hard review pages; moving those jobs to residential is what made them viable again. When your success rate falls, that's your signal — not before.
It's not just the IP
A residential IP gets you past the network check, but modern targets fingerprint the browser too. Our stack pairs residential proxies with Camoufox (a hardened Firefox) under xvfb, handles consent walls, and replays tokens for deep pagination. The proxy is necessary, not sufficient — budget for the browser layer as well. See how we test →
Frequently asked
What's the best proxy for web scraping in 2026?
For targets that fight back — search engines, review platforms, e-commerce — residential proxies are essential, and Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) is our top pick because it held a high success rate where datacenter proxies collapsed. For easy targets and the lowest cost, Webshare's datacenter proxies are excellent value. Pick based on how hard your target blocks.
Do I need residential or datacenter proxies for scraping?
Use datacenter proxies for sites that don't actively block them — they're faster and far cheaper. Switch to residential when you see blocks, CAPTCHAs, or success rates falling. In our own work, datacenter proxies dropped to roughly a fifth success rate on hard review pages, while residential restored them to viable levels.
Why do my datacenter proxies keep getting blocked?
Datacenter IP ranges are easy to identify and many sites block them outright. Hard targets fingerprint the IP, the TLS handshake, and browser signals together. Residential IPs come from real consumer connections, so they pass the IP check — but you still need a believable browser (we use Camoufox) and proper session handling to avoid blocks.
How much do scraping proxies cost?
Datacenter proxies can be free to a few dollars a month (Webshare has a free tier). Residential proxies are priced per gigabyte — roughly $1.75–$4.2/GB across the providers we track, as of 2026-05. Budget by traffic volume, not proxy count.
Are proxies legal for web scraping?
Using proxies is legal. The legal questions are about what you scrape and how you use it — respect terms of service, avoid personal data you shouldn't collect, and rate-limit politely. Proxies are a networking tool; responsibility lies in how you scrape.